On This Day

In Memory

Kenneth George Chick

October 31, 1921-January 25, 2004

Happy Birthday Gramps. 

This will forever and always be your day.

Thanks for switching the lights on & off in the studio yesterday 

to let me know you're just on the other side.

xox

The Village

So about this time last year, my friend Lisa Ryder and I decided to make some small collaged houses, colour copy the originals onto cardstock and send them to one another. The other day, she showed me a photo of her wee houses beautifully framed. This was our plan, but somehow I hadn't managed to get it done. Seeing hers completed inspired me to hop in the car, zoom down to Ikea and get a frame. 

I started using Ribba frames about 5 years ago because I like how thick and chunky they are-almost like a shadow box and if you use the same type of frames for everything, when you hang it, it will look like a gallery, even if the artwork in each one is very different.

I spent about two hours last night framing mine. It took awhile for me to get the houses laid out "just so". I managed to create a combination of both our work that I think looks great together. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. The only thing is that I need to go back to Ikea for a second frame-I still have enough of our houses left to create another subdivision! (Lisa said the same thing.) She's going to post about our collaboration here later this morning. (She's in New Zealand, so it's not quite breakfast time tomorrow morning for her yet.)

Seeing as I was already shopping for frames, I picked up a couple other sizes to frame other pieces that I've been hanging onto for ages. I bought this sewing pattern crow printed on fabric years ago at Artfibrefest. It's by Carla Sonheim. It's been floating around the studio forever. I love how it looks in the frame.

I also had this pretty owl print by Cori Dantini that I bought 3 years ago. It's the same artist whose work became (with her permission) a tattoo. I have the bird print of the artwork that I had tattooed on my leg, which *ahem* also needs a frame. Yes, I'm going to have to make another trip to Ikea!

And finally, I framed this print of my own work, Diamond In the Rough. My goal is to print all my favourite photographs from the classes I've taken and do a gallery wall in the living room. My plan is to print them all different sizes, so it's interesting. I think that's going on my to-do list for 2013.

 I still have more artwork kicking around the studio that needs framing. Now that I've got a few favourite pieces finished, maybe I will be better about making the effort to get frames. I just need to figure out where I want to hang these pieces. While we're out and about today I'd better pick up some nails!

Thank you to everyone who sent their well wishes for our Anniversary yesterday. My husband worked a half day, we had some errands to run and the weather was ugly. Today it's sunny, so we're going to celebrate by taking Indy for a swim, having lunch together and just enjoying each other's company.

Also thank you for your good thoughts and prayers for us. It's so comforting to know so many people care and are supporting us. We really do feel the love. We have THE BEST friends on the planet and for that we are grateful.

xox

In Good Times & In Bad

I don't usually share really personal things on my blog, but this is a pretty big deal in my life right now.

 Today, my husband and I are celebrating 22 years of being happily married. This year's anniversary is especially poignant because just 7 weeks ago, we were blindsided by his diagnosis of kidney cancer. It was caught pretty much by accident during a routine yearly blood test which came back every so slightly off and required follow up testing. We never thought it was anything serious, so getting that news was (to say the least) a complete shock, that left us reeling.

We were quickly swept up into a frenzy of additional tests and appointments, which revealed a sizable tumor. The upshot of it all is that in less than three weeks, my husband will undergo surgery to remove his left kidney and will be off work for at least 6 weeks. Kidney cancer is rare. It's also very sneaky-usually there are no symptoms and by the time they find it, it's spread. In my husband's case, they believe he's had cancer for at least 3 years.

It's pretty sobering to face the uncertainty of the fate of someone you love so much. In fact, it's terrifying. I've felt like all the air has been sucked out of my lungs. Fortunately, we have dear friends who have circled their wagons for us. Their support means everything. As scary as this is, I know they've got our backs and that's immensely comforting.

We've been joking that we believe we got this "in sickness and in health" thing down pat. We'd like to NOT have to revisit to the whole concept any further- we've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, thank you very much.

Twenty-two years together will stand us good stead. We've been through bad times and survived. We will rise above. Together.

Happy Anniversary to my love. 

I am grateful for every single second of our lives together.

Forever & always.

xox

Right Now

Reading:

In the last week, I've read 3 novels by Tami Hoag: Deeper than Death, Secrets to the Grave and Down the Darkest Road, which are a trilogy of sorts. I love murder mysteries. There hasn't been alot of TV lately, so I've been consuming books. 

Watching:

As I've said, it's been a bit of a tv wasteland lately. Here's my fall lineup:

The Amazing Race, Flying Wild Alaska, Ice Road Truckers, Ice Pilots, Deadliest Catch, Grey's Anatomy (which is driving me nuts-the writers have lost their minds), Survivor and a new show called Chicago Fire, which so far is really good.

Listening:

Thanks to the 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony, I realized I do in fact really like Coldplay. I'd heard their music on my radio station, but just didn't really pay that much attention. After the Games, I had to go download their albums from iTunes. I'm playing them to death.

Anticipating:

Excited about getting my hands on the Nov/Dec issue of Somerset Studio with Seth's 10 page article & my art in it. I am on the hunt for a copy now. Hopefully they will be arriving at my local bookstore today or tomorrow. *fingers crossed*

Also excited to be having company for the November long weekend. Two photog friends are coming into town and staying with me briefly. We have loose plans to just hang out and make some art together. Should be a good time!

Doing:

I'm doing my annual autumn house purge. Today I've been dusting the zillion and one things in my studio, moving things around, reorganizing and tossing the junk. Can I just say I hate dusting? I do however love working in a clean space, so I suppose that makes it worth it...almost. The photo posted above is a stack of favourite books in my collection. For some reason, seeing them stacked like that makes me feel stupidly happy. (There are a combination of photography books and journalling books & zines.)

Creating:

Working on a swap with a friend for Hallowe'en. I'm working on finishing it up and hoping to get it into the mail over the weekend. 

I'm also taking another online photography class with Kat Sloma, called Finding Your Eye. I happened to win a spot, lucky me!

Moving Forward

Photos from week 2 of Rose Coloured Glasses. The first 4 were taken at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden the day I went to see the Tibetan Monks. 

 Rainy Day

 Lanterns

 Framed

 Golden Orange

And lastly, a self-portrait:

Tired

(On the day we were doing them, I was tired and stressed and in desperate need of a nap. Some days are just like that.)

It's been difficult shooting through this class. I've been having problems with my vision for some time now and recently found out that it's because I've had at least 4 attacks of optic neuritis since February. Over the summer, I'd finally learned how to shoot manually, but with the damage to my vision, everything I was shooting was coming out blurry, even with my glasses on. What I perceived as focused wasn't. Vivienne, ever the supportive teacher that she is, encouraged me to go back to shooting on auto. (Unless, of course, I am trying to achieve blur.) 

Despite setbacks, I still feel I learned something: I always feel better when I am creating, even if that becomes a challenge. I just have to keep moving forward.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my love.

This year when you blow out the candles, 

we will all be wishing the same thing.

May it be so.

xoxox

Ancient Art

On Friday, I discovered that the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden was hosting Tibetan monks who were going to be creating a sand mandala. I've always wanted to see this, so I quickly emailed my friend Carol to see if she wanted to come with me. She did, so yesterday, we braved the weather (it was pouring and windy) and went to meet them.

When we arrived, we discovered that the monks had not yet arrived. The docent explained that they were on "Tibetan time", which made me laugh. You cannot expect those that live in the now to be the slave of a schedule. She needn't have worried though-they arrived right after she'd said it, smiling and in good spirits despite the dismal weather.

They'd begun working on the sand mandala the day before so we were able to see the amazing progress they had already made. The mandala is drawn from memory and then they begin the painstaking work of filling it in using colourful sands.

They have two tapering medal rods that are ribbed. The top end of the rod is wide and open and they scoop the sand into the rod from this end. The other end is narrow and this is where the sand comes out. They rub the second rod up and down the one full of sand, to create vibration to make the sand come out. It's like a sand version of paint by numbers.

They create intricate patterns and outlines, using the different colours and though it's hard to tell from the photos, there are also a variety of textures created. It's really incredible the amount of skill and patience required to do this. The knowledge of this art has been handed down through the ages. 

Each element of the design has meaning. Mandalas are symmetric with a series of concentric circles and square. The center point is where the deity resides. The finished mandalas have four gates, which symbolize the four virtues: compassion, kindness, sympathy and equanimity. Sand mandalas are for purification and healing and the act of their creation is a form of meditation. Once completed, the mandala will be consecrated and then ceremoniously wiped away and dispersed into flowing water, symbolizing the impermanent nature of existence.

Before they began their work the day before, they also held a puja ceremony, honouring Buddha. Offerings were made and incense was burned. Usually I am not a fan of incense because I have allergies but the incense they used was really lovely. It didn't bother me at all.

The Abbot, Jampa Sopa created this butter sculpture. Butter sculptures are a made from a mixture of Yak butter, wax and dyes. When you're working with it, you have to dip your fingers in cold water to keep it from sticking to you. Butter sculptures are given as offerings. This one stood about a foot high, but for special ceremonies, they can reach several meters high. Again, each of the colours and designs holds special meaning.

I was able to shoot a short video of the monks working on the mandala. I wanted to be able to share with you the sound of what they were doing. It was oddly mesmerizing. Carol and I found that we lost all track of time watching them work.

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, (1950-1959) the monk's monastery was razed to the ground. Of the 600 monks of the Dzongkar Choede monastery, only 5% survived, fleeing to Southern India with the Dalai Lama. Today they are a community of 300 monk and run a school for young monks, many of whom are orphans or semi-orphans from poor families. The monks have come to Canada to raise funds to support their school and to provide health care. I believe everyone should have access to an education and health care. It felt good making a donation to support this.

It was an amazing opportunity to be able to experience Tibetan culture right in my own back yard. I have read about the struggle of the Tibetan people for years. 7 Years in Tibet is my all time favourite movie. I never dreamed that someday, I would be sitting in a scholar's garden in the heart of Vancouver, watching ancient history and tradition unfold before me. The world seems a little bit smaller now and certainly more beautiful. Yesterday was magical and mystical and I'll never forget it. 

To see what Carol had to say about our experience, click here. Her photos are fantastic.

An Old Favourite

My friend Seth sent me an email this morning, letting me know my favourite piece of art is being featured on his blog this morning as part of his Playing Favourites series. What's comical is that every time I submit something for one of his series, I totally forget what I've sent until it pops up. I am always just as surprised as everyone else. *grins*

So what was my favourite piece? Click here to find out!

It's a blustery, wet day here on the west coast of Canada. I am heading out on a really cool adventure with a friend. I'll post about it tomorrow! (That is if I don't get blown back to Oz!)

Rose Coloured Glasses, Week 1

So Rose Coloured Glasses began on Monday. I'm back into the regular practice of shooting for class and it feels good. I just realized that I've been shooting now for 22 straight months. This is by far the largest body of work I've ever created and I'm pretty pleased about it.

I shot these birch trees up at the lake. They are one of my favourite trees because they remind me of home (the prairies) and you don't see too many of them here in BC. Yes, I have favourite trees. I'm weird like that. My other favourites are blue spruce, (my grandfather had them on his farm, so they also remind me of home) arbutus trees, and of course, Canada's beloved maple trees.

Autumn berries, up at the lake.

The trees are just beginning to turn now. We had an Indian Summer, so it was sunny and warm right up until a couple days ago. Now we're socked in with fog and it's supposed to rain. We haven't had rain in ages.

I love this sunlight and blur shot. I paired it with the Harvest Prayer I posted on Thanksgiving. 

 The secret world on a sunflower.

I think this is my favourite shot this week. I took it in my studio. I collect vintage scissors and pieces of old quilts. I love shooting still lifes.

Why My Story Matters

 Photo credit: Blusson Spinal Cord Centre

Last week, I went to the Blusson Centre, a beautiful new medical building that houses the UBC spinal cord injury research centre for an orientation for the UBC Health Mentors Program.

Photo credit: Blusson Spinal Cord Centre

Here's a peek of the inside. It's bright, welcoming and totally accessible. I love the architecture.  

I think I mentioned going for an interview to join the program way back in the spring and not long after that, I got an email saying I was accepted. The way this program works is that future health care practitioners are matched with a Health Mentor, who has a chronic illness and/or disability. The program offers the students the opportunity for patient-centered learning through working with their mentor for a period of 16 months and has been accredited as part of their formal education. It includes students from medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dietetics and speech and language pathology & audiology.

On Wednesday night, I finally got to meet the students I will be working with from now until January 2014! I have four lovely young women assigned to me. My students are studying medicine, nursing, dentistry and occupational therapy. We will begin our work together in less than 2 weeks. I got a very positive vibe about how our group is going to mesh. I believe learning is a shared experience I think this is going to be a great one for all of us.

I am really excited about participating in this program. I've been giving interviews to medical students about living with MS through the UBC Faculty of Medicine's program for the last 3 1/2 years, but it's wonderful to have the opportunity to have a greater impact on the future of our health care system. It's easy to sit around complaining about what's wrong with our system, but that's a complete waste of energy. I believe that if you don't choose to become part of the solution, you become a part of the problem. I also feel that if I have to live with this crappy disease, then some good has to come of it. Volunteering as a Health Mentor is part of how I'm making that happen.

A Thanksgiving Weekend Tradition

Fort Langley Cranberry Festival 2012

Yesterday was the Fort Langley Cranberry Festival. Our whole family drove out to enjoy a lovely pancake brekki al fresco, put on by the local Lion's club. (The proceeds of which went directly to the Xmas bureau and the food bank, so it was a win-win.) They always have this delicious cranberry sausage that Freybe's (a local BC meat company) makes once a year, especially for the festival. My husband bought some for us to take home. We'll have them for breakfast tomorrow. MMM!

As always, there were tons of booths set up, selling everything from local produce, cheeses, honey, crafts and flowers to rubber stamps, clothing and pottery. If you can imagine it, it was probably there. There were also numerous food vendors set up, offering things like chocolate, mini-donuts, pulled pork on a bun, candy, bannock, perogies and so on. You could eat your way from one end of the village to the other, if you wanted to.

We were having a really great day until I dropped my nephew off at work after the festival and my car lost all it's antifreeze, overheated and stranded me on the far side of town, with Indy. We ended up having to have it towed home. It was hugely stressful. It's now sitting on the drive until one of us can muster up the wherewithal to deal with it. Tomorrow's a holiday, so who knows what if anything can be done.

Anyway, today we're having our turkey dinner with friends and family, so I am in the process of prepping everything. The pumpkin pie just came out of the oven, so the house smells yummy. Birdzilla is going in the oven around noon. It's beautifully sunny here again today. We're having Indian summer so the weather has been gorgeous.

Okay! Back to the kitchen!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving is especially poignant for our family this year, as we face some unexpected and devastating news. We are deeply grateful for our friends near and far who have circled the wagons for us during this difficult time. Your love keeps us strong.

In what has become a Thanksgiving tradition here on my blog, I am sharing this beautiful ancient piece of writing. I am not a religious person but this speaks to my values and my vision for how to live my life.  Some anonymous soul in the 1600's recorded these thoughts for posterity so that someday we could read them on this, the most special of days.

Harvest Prayer

(17th Century Anonymous Sermon)

Please be gentle with yourself and others. 

We are all children of chance 

And none can say why some fields blossom 

While others lay brown beneath the harvest sun. 

Take hope that your season will come. 

Share the joy of those whose season is at hand. 

Care for those around you. 

Look past your differences. 

Their dreams are no less than yours, 

Their choices in life no more easily made. 

And give. 

Give in any way you can. 

Give in every way you can. 

Give whatever you possess. 

Give from your heart. 

To give is to love,

To withhold is to wither. 

Care less for the size of your harvest

 than for how it is shared, 

And your life will have meaning 

And your heart will have peace.

***

Happy Thanksgiving Canadian Friends!

It Never Gets Old!

Image Copyright Stampington LLC 2012

I came home the other night to an email from my friend Seth Apter. He wanted to let me know that an article he'd written about his 5x5 project was going to be published in the November/December issue of Somerset Studio. YAY!

Seth put a call out way back in the late winter/early spring for artwork. The only guidelines were that it had to  answer one of three questions Seth asked and measure 5x5 inches. I chose the question "Who has had the most impact on your creative life?" which was a no-brainer for me and I answered the question in zine form. I hand delivered my work to Seth when he was here in early May on his book tour for The Pulse of Mixed Media.

Seth's email also informed me that my work has been included in his soon-to-be-published article and not only that-it's also being used to promote the upcoming issue it appears in on Stampington's website! 

Image Copyright Stampington LLC 2012

That's the cover of the zine I made, featuring one of my mixed media photographs, Skydiving in the upper left hand corner. Cool! I can't wait to pick up this issue of Somerset!

Congratulations and thank you Seth for generously including me! 

You are the best!

Learn Something!

So Vivienne, photography teacher extraordinaire is offering Light Hunters for the very last time as a monthly e-course! This means that you have the opportunity to take the class on a pay-what-you-can basis. Normally the class is $39 and you can pay the full rate (worth every penny!) or choose a rate that works for you. Either way, it's a a great investment.

This is what I was able to accomplish during Light Hunters when I took the course. I enjoyed seeking out subtle light and capturing it. It added more depth and dimension to my work. 

Also on tap for Autumn, Vivienne is also running Montage, which is an amazing class that teaches you how to combine video footage with still photographs to make wonderful soulful videos. This is a really cool class-I took it over the summer and managed to complete two videos. One is on my "About" page and is autobiographical in nature and the other is on my "Videography" page. It's a celebration of some of the graffiti I love to photograph here in Vancouver. (Both pages are listed on my sidebar, for future reference.) 

Montage is a great class if you are looking for new ways to use your photographs or if you're a creative and want a beautiful and unique way to promote yourself or your business. Some people in my class used what they learned to make meditation videos and one made a video to celebrate her wedding anniversary. The possibilities are endless!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am now looking forward to taking Vivienne's latest offering, Rose Coloured Glasses which begins next week.

Just so you know, I am telling you all this because I want to. I only recommend classes I've taken with an instructor and love. There's no kickbacks or perks for me in sharing this information, other than having the satisfaction of helping to support an artist and instructor who has changed my artistic practice forever, for the good. 

When I started taking classes with Vivienne, I was not a photographer. I had a cheap, crappy point and shoot camera that was in the process of dying and I'd never taken an artistic photo in my life. I was clueless, but I had a desire to learn and when the opportunity presented itself, I leaped at the chance. You do not need to own a fancy camera or be particularly techie. If you have a desire to learn, you have everything you need. Whether you use a camera or just your iphone, it doesn't matter. Vivienne's classes are about playfulness and experimenting. She took someone who was completely green and transformed me into someone who is deeply in love with photography. 

She's just THAT GOOD. 

Farewell September!

October is here! My most favourite month of the whole year! I celebrated the last day of September by donning jeans, a sweater and my hiking boots and heading for the woods.

Truly. I always feel myself relax when I am hiking. It soothes the soul.

Indy was happy because he got to play in the ocean. He's got his water Kong in his mouth in this photo. You can't really tell, but the rope is badly frayed. It's almost time to retire it for a new one. He goes through two a year, which if you saw how hard he plays with them, you'd know they stand up to alot of abuse. Sometimes he has two or three dogs playing tug with it. The rope is really meant so that the humans can wind up and lob it waaaay out into the water. It's really not meant as a tug toy. Someone forgot to mention this to Indy.

I came across these really cool sculptures. This one is an Eagle. There are eagles in the area, but we didn't see any yesterday.

We did see a Blue Heron, though. (A real one.) There was one sitting out on a piling near the dog beach. It always amazes me how such large birds are so graceful in flight. There's a place near Stanley Park where they nest in large colonies. The nests are pretty impressive. I've tried photographing them there, but alas, I need a zoom lense to do it properly. They are too high up to get good photos with the lense I have.

On our way back to our car, we crossed a set of train tracks. They are very active ones and I just happened to look down and notice that there were a bunch of small metal disks scattered around one of the tracks. I knew instantly what they were and bent down to pick them all up. Someone had left coins on the tracks to be flattened. There were 5 and they came home with me. I can't believe no one else noticed them!

It was good getting out with my camera yesterday. I am looking forward to my most favourite holiday, Thanksgiving which is coming up this weekend. It always seems to sneak up on us! But first, I have to get through a busy week. I have a City Council Advisory meeting tomorrow night and then an orientation for the UBC Health Mentor's Program on Wednesday night. I am excited to meet my students! I'll share more about that, soon. It's an amazing opportunity!